The Last Honest Man – the CIA, the FBI, the Mafia and the Kennedys, and one Senator’s fight to save democracy.

My Thanks to Matt Oppenheimer CEO Remitly Global, for recommending a great book with connections to his home town of Boise, Ohio, USA.
This is a fascinating story, Senator Frank Church, as the chairman of the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, led the Church Committee investigation in the 1970s. This investigation exposed a range of historical events and unethical practices, particularly involving the CIA and FBI. Here are some of the key findings and revelations from the Church Committee’s investigations:

1. CIA’s Assassination Plots: The Church Committee revealed that the CIA had been involved in various assassination plots and attempts to assassinate foreign leaders, including Fidel Castro of Cuba and Patrice Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2. CIA’s MK-Ultra Program: The committee uncovered the CIA’s MK-Ultra program, which involved the use of mind-control experiments on unwitting subjects, including the administration of LSD without their consent. These experiments were often conducted in unethical and illegal ways.
3. FBI’s COINTELPRO: The committee exposed the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), which aimed to survey, disrupt, and neutralize civil rights and political activist groups, including Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent leaders. COINTELPRO tactics included wiretapping, harassment, and attempts to discredit individuals and organizations.
4. Illegal Surveillance: The Church Committee found evidence of illegal domestic surveillance by intelligence agencies, including the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens and organizations without proper authorization.
5. Abuse of Intelligence Agencies: The investigations revealed instances where intelligence agencies, particularly the CIA and FBI, had overstepped their bounds, violated civil liberties, and engaged in activities that undermined democratic principles.
6. Lack of Oversight: The Church Committee underscored the need for improved oversight of intelligence agencies to prevent abuses of power and protect constitutional rights.

Senator Frank Church’s work through the Church Committee played a pivotal role in exposing these unethical and illegal practices, leading to significant reforms in intelligence agencies and the establishment of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to regulate domestic surveillance activities. His efforts aimed to ensure that intelligence agencies operated within the boundaries of the law and respected the principles of democracy and individual rights.